Resume Checklist: 25 Things to Check Before You Hit Send

Before you send a resume, check five groups of things: whether it fits this job, whether the evidence is specific, whether the layout reads cleanly, whether the file is right and whether the details are correct. The twenty-five checks below take about fifteen minutes. Run them in order, because a mismatch with the job is a bigger problem than a stray space, and it is easier to fix content first and polish afterwards.

Tick each item or fix it. If you cannot tick it, it is the next thing to improve.

A. Fit for this job (5 checks)

1. The top third of page one shows evidence for the posting's two or three main requirements.
2. The summary, if you have one, matches the role and level.
3. Any required licence, certification or qualification is easy to see.
4. Your most relevant experience comes first within each role.
5. Nothing in the first half of the page is irrelevant to this application.

If you fail here, work on the targeted resume before anything else.

B. Evidence (6 checks)

1. Each bullet says what you did, which is more than what the role involved. See resume bullet points.
2. Bullets start with specific verbs and do not repeat the same one too often. See action verbs.
3. There is scope or a result in most bullets: numbers, size, frequency, outcome.
4. Every skill in the skills section appears in a bullet or project. See the skills section.
5. Claims are ones you could explain in an interview.
6. Old or irrelevant roles are short or removed.

C. Layout (5 checks)

1. One column, standard headings, one clean font. See fonts and margins.
2. Dates in one format throughout, newest first.
3. Consistent bullets, spacing and bold usage.
4. No text boxes, tables used for layout or images of text. See ATS-friendly resumes.
5. Length is right: one page early in a career, two at most for most people. See resume length.

D. The file (4 checks)

1. Text PDF unless Word is requested; the text can be selected and pasted. See PDF or Word.
2. File named Firstname-Lastname-Resume.pdf.
3. Opens correctly on a phone and a second computer.
4. File size is small and links work.

E. Details and process (5 checks)

1. Name, email and phone are correct. Read the digits aloud. See contact information.
2. Employer names, tool names and job titles are spelled correctly.
3. No typos: read from the bottom to the top and ask someone else to read it.
4. You have followed every instruction in the posting, such as a word limit, a link or a form.
5. You have saved a copy of exactly what you sent, with the posting, so you can prepare for the interview.

How to read it like a recruiter

Print the page or view it at normal size, and give it thirty seconds. Cover everything below the first third. Ask three questions:

• What does this person do, and at what level?
• Is there evidence for the main requirement of this job?
• Is there anything that makes me hesitate?

If a stranger would answer the first two quickly and the third with "no", the resume is ready. If you cannot tell, ask a friend to do the same and tell you what they remember. What they remember is what the reviewer will remember. The same approach is used on the hiring side; see the resume screening checklist for how recruiters read.

Things not to fix at the last minute

Do not redesign the page an hour before a deadline, or add a skill you have not used because the posting mentions it. If you notice a gap, you can mention in a cover letter what you are doing about it. See how to write a cover letter. Last-minute fixes should be small, since each change risks breaking the layout or introducing an error.

After you send

Record the date, the role, the version you sent and any contact. A tracker saves effort later, and it keeps your follow-ups accurate. See job application tracker and how to follow up. If you are invited to an interview, reread the resume with the posting and prepare to speak to every line; the next steps are in interview preparation.

A one-line version

Right job, specific evidence, clean layout, correct file, no errors. If any of the five fails, fix that before you send. If you want more on how a resume gets read and rejected, see why resumes get rejected and common resume mistakes.

If you only have five minutes

Run these six, in this order, because they catch most of the damage:

1. Does the top third show evidence for this job?
2. Are the email address and phone number right?
3. Is the file a text PDF named with your name?
4. Does the text paste cleanly into a plain editor?
5. Have you read it aloud once?
6. Did you follow the posting's instructions?

A rushed application with these six right will usually beat a polished one with a wrong phone number. If you have more time, work through the full list above.

Keeping a master checklist

Copy this list into a note and tick it off for each application. After three or four applications you will know which items you tend to miss, usually the tailoring items in group A or the instruction check in group E. Put those two at the top of your own version.